Brush Breaking News, Sports, Weather, Traffic

Road-weary Denver Nuggets off to 11-12 start, but coach George Karl OK with status

ANALYSIS

Nuggets coach George Karl speaks with referee Marc Davis in the fourth quarter of Denver's game Thursday against Minnesota. The Timberwolves won 108-105. (Hannah Foslien, The Associated Press)

MINNEAPOLIS — Having 17 of your first 23 games on the road could be worse. You could be the Bulls without Michael Jordan.

To start the 1985-86 season, Chicago went 8-15 without the injured superstar. Those Bulls were the last NBA team to start the season with 17-of-23 games on the road until this season, when, yes, the NBA scheduling gurus gave Denver that dubious distinction.

After their 23 games, the Nuggets are 11-12. Denver returned to town early Thursday after logging 4,906 miles on a five-city road swing, having gone 2-3.

"I don't know what George (Karl) did to commissioner (David) Stern, but their schedule is brutal," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said with a chuckle.

With a sub-.500 record, the Nuggets have issues. Marquee players have been maddening. The team can't make a 3-point shot. Or even a free throw.

But, to paraphrase Gertrude Stein, the road is the road is the road. It's tough out there.

Karl is a longtime believer of a stat system created by former Nuggets coach Doug Moe. It's simple: A team receives plus-one for a road win and minus-one for a home loss. With a 5-1 home record and a 6-11 road record, Denver is plus-five, which sounds a lot better than one game under .500.

"There are only three to four teams with us in that area," Karl said.

Denver's schedule doesn't get friendly, though, until 2013. Five of Denver's next nine games are on the road, including a Christmas game at the Clippers and a back-to-back at Dallas and Memphis.

Advertisement

"If you see us at 17-15 on January 1, we'll have a celebration," Karl said. "That's how tough our schedule is."

As Denver regroups for a Friday home game against the Grizzlies, its focus should start with its two most important players, Ty and 'Dre.

Point guard Ty Lawson is known for his up-and-down speed on the court, but his game has been spectacularly up-and-down too.

Just look at the recent road trip. A season-high 32 points in Atlanta. Two points in the next game. Then 23 points at New York, but just four in the second half, in addition to committing some costly turnovers. Then he basically won the Nuggets a game at Detroit and basically lost Denver the game at Minnesota.

Lawson must find consistency and must find confidence to be a franchise point guard, which is what Denver is paying him to be.

As for 'Dre — Andre Iguodala — his hot streak officially ended six games ago. In the past half-dozen games, including the road trip, 'Dre shot 26.7 percent from the field. He was 7-for-14 from inside the paint and 9-for-46 (19.6 percent) from everywhere else. During the stretch, Iguodala has averaged 4.2 turnovers per game as well.

"The system we play, sometimes we're making them play in a noncomfortable zone," Karl said of Iguodala. "But he does so many good things. His numbers offensively stand out, but A.I. does a lot of basketball stuff out there that helps us be successful."

Basically, the Nuggets' struggles come down to whether they are magnified by the amount of road games, or can be quickly corrected with a more favorable home schedule. As is, Denver is last in free-throw shooting and 25th in 3-point shooting — and has averaged the third-most turnovers per game.

Still, plus-five.

"They're going to be one of the better teams in the Western Conference when it's all said and done," Adelman said.